Any port in storm for Rays

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - Should the Tampa Bay Rays wind up taking the World Series back to Florida, the name of one of the heroes will not be found in the box score.

Jeff Ziegler is the team's traveling secretary. Thanks to him, the American League champions were able to rest comfortably while waiting for the resumption of Game 5, which was suspended because of rain Monday night.

The Rays, unable to return to their hotel in Philadelphia when play was stopped Monday night, can only wonder what might have been if Ziegler hadn't been able to find rooms for a travel party of 170 on short notice.

Even if they were in, of all places, downtown Wilmington.

"I can't help these guys win a game, but I'd sure hate to be blamed for losing," Ziegler said yesterday.

"He's the MVP of the trip," reliever J.P Howell said, a sentiment echoed by other appreciative players. "No doubt."

Like many of his teammates, Howell had never been to Delaware before the Rays settled into the Hotel du Pont to await word on when the game, tied 2-2 after 5½ innings, will be picked up.

The du Pont, which opened in 1911, lists among its one-time guests eight U.S. presidents, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart and a number of big-name athletes, including Jesse Owens and Pete Rose.

"This place is awesome," Howell said. "Our season could be over and we'd be back in Tampa right now. But we're still playing, and here we are in Delaware. It's unusual, but it's kind of cool."

The Rays trail the series 3-1 but feel rejuvenated after rallying from a two-run deficit before play was stopped.

More rain and windy, cold weather prevented the game from resuming last night. The Rays and Phillies hope for better conditions tonight, when the Series is scheduled to pick up in the bottom of the sixth.

"It hasn't been a conventional World Series. It's been a little different. It goes along with our season," Rays rookie pitcher David Price said. "It's kind of what we've been dealing with all year. You don't expect everything to be perfect. You expect some bumps in the road, and that's what we're getting."

How the Rays wound up in Wilmington, the home of a Single-A Carolina League team, is an interesting story itself.

Ziegler called 21 hotels before finally finding one that could accommodate his last-minute request for 100 rooms. One woman who answered the phone at another Wilmington hotel thought he was joking but offered to check room availability throughout the city after she turned on the television and saw poor weather indeed was threatening the game.

"She came back to the phone and said, 'The only place you're going to find that many rooms is the du Pont,' " Ziegler said. "She said, 'It's a great hotel, you're really going to like it. A little pricey, but it's really a nice place.' "

Even the people at the du Pont initially weren't sure Ziegler was who he said he was.

"The girl who answered the phone said, 'I think I've got a prank call,' " he said. "I could hear her say it, and I said, 'I'm dead serious. If you'll turn the TV on you'll see what I mean.' "

Some players spent much of the day sitting in their rooms resting, watching TV or visiting with family and friends. Others went shopping and set out looking for places to eat. Bench coach Dave Martinez went off to get dry clothes for his children because they got soaked Monday night.

Howell joked that he hadn't done much of anything.

"What's there to do in Delaware?" he said. "We're nervous to go outside. This isn't our territory."

Ziegler said the Rays wound up needing about 85 rooms - a good thing, because the du Pont had 90 available. He initially asked for 100 because he didn't have time to sit down and figure out exactly how many he'd need.

The former police officer, who has been Tampa Bay's director of travel for 10 years, was watching the game from the visiting clubhouse and began frantically making calls in the fifth inning when he realized puddles were forming in the infield.

Once he had a deal with the du Pont, Ziegler arranged to have a truck sent to the airport to transfer luggage from the team charter to the hotel. Amazingly, everything was in order by the time the team arrived about 1 a.m.

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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